


i'm trying to breathe for you, will you breathe for me

by solamaryllis



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Menagerie - Freeform, RWBY - Freeform, Water, drowning tw?, i dont wanna tag more bc spoilers, panik - Freeform, wow i don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 10:28:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29624907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solamaryllis/pseuds/solamaryllis
Summary: it seemed like an innocuous trip to Menagerie, everything was fine. it's summertime, hurricanes are expected.what's not expected is the sudden lack of blonde and then everything's becoming suffocating, and Blake feels like she's drowning.Yang is.alternatively, yangst.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Kudos: 12





	i'm trying to breathe for you, will you breathe for me

**Author's Note:**

> there's no good reason. i wrote this instead of sleeping or doing the mounds of hw i have. spot the reference?  
> sorry not sorry. reese's.

The sun was warm, almost tingly on her face as she got off of the boat, hand in hand with Yang, both of them holding a suitcase in their free hand as they deboarded, Blake scanning the dock for her parents. 

When Yang had suggested they go visit her parents during their vacation time, she was confused at first since they had gone to her parents last, so it was their turn to go to Patch and visit Tai, but then Yang explained that Tai was traveling with Qrow on some type of land trotting hike, and that settled it.

Yang spotted Blake’s dad in the crowd and quickly brought her attention to her parents waving from across the dock and they quickly made their way over. Ghira wrapped her up in a hug, spinning Blake around with no effort whatsoever. 

“Dad! You act like it’s been forever! We were here not even four months ago!”

Ghira set her down before engaging in a firm handshake with Yang that quickly devolved into a test of strength that went on for a couple more seconds before Yang’s aura began to flare and she quickly tapped out.

“It wouldn’t be great if I broke my hand  _ now _ , sir.”

Ghira faltered for a second before he quickly covered it up. 

“Ah, yes. No, no it would not. Also,” he stage whispered. “I think Blake would be very...upset to say the least.”

Blake gave her mother a quick hug before looking over at her dad and laughing. 

“Yes, Dad, I’d be very upset, to say the least, if you broke my girlfriend’s hand.”

“I won’t.”

“Better not, Dad. Now, Mom was just suggesting we all go get food, so maybe you two,” Blake poked Yang in the ribs and they yelped as they ducked back out of her reach, “will not harm each other?”

Both of them looked at each other and then turned back to her with sheepish expressions and Yang began with a sheepish, “Well-”

At this point, Kali interrupted and raised a single eyebrow in the direction of the two, and both of them just smiled at her. 

“That’s what I thought. Blake, sweetie, we were thinking you and Yang could pick where we could eat right now? You must be tired from the boat, and there has to be  _ something _ that you two are craving!”

“I don’t have any particular place in mind, so wherever you want to go, baby.”

Blake narrowed her eyes at Yang, something not clicking quite right about the whole interaction, but she just brushed it off as boat lag. 

“Oh, the little small fish place that’s near the ocean, out back behind the house?”

“I know which one! The one owned by the Lutris family?”

“Yeah! That’s the one. I love their fried fish!” 

Yang chuckled, and Blake turned, her eyes narrowed. 

“You would have picked this anyway wouldn’t you have?”

“Oh honey, I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Blake shook her head, but slipped her hand back into Yang’s instead, giving it a little reassuring squeeze, always able to read Yang like the books that littered their apartment. She remembered Yang mentioning that she always got nervous when meeting up with Blake’s parents, and regardless of the knowledge that they loved her, she was always scared that they’d decide one day that she wasn’t enough for their daughter. Blake remembered that day clearly, and she also remembered the stomachache they got after consuming unholy amounts of ice cream and nothing else. She wouldn’t change it though, since it was such a personal moment, and she and Yang had opened up to each other in a way they hadn’t for a while. At least not since Yang woke up one night when Blake accidentally hit her in her sleep. 

That had been...an intense conversation and a long night. 

They walked up to the Belladonna’s house and quickly made their way inside, dropping off their luggage and Blake heading towards the shower, mumbling something about needing something to wake her up after the boat ride, unaware of the conversation taking place behind her. 

Yang leaned towards Ghira and did her best to whisper, lest Blake pick up on her words and ruin the entire plan she’d been working on for months now. 

“Do you think she knows?”

“I don’t think so, but you’re starting to act nervous, suspicious, so I’m thinking she’s beginning to notice something is up. What, I don’t think she knows, or she would have said something. You know her.”

Kali herded them both towards the kitchen and started pouring out tea and small snacks, much to Yang’s confusion. 

“Sweetheart, if there’s anything she’s learned from you, it’s your hair care routine. She’ll be in there for a while. That’s not even counting if she falls asleep! Anyway, we have almost everything ready, I’m just happy you had us be a part of it, Tai-Yang’s hiding out in Ghira’s office, and he’ll be there whenever you’re ready.”

Yang nodded, digging in her pockets for her scroll and pulling up her rough outline. There was only the actual placement and set-up of a couple of things, and then it was just getting Blake out there. Hopefully, things would go off without a hitch, and everything will have paid off. 

It’s not necessarily a surprise since it’s been a topic of discussion for just over a year, and Yang’s just fingers crossed. 

“Okay, so I have to drag the stuff out and bury the baggies in the sand underwater and then bring it up! Okay, I think I got this.”

“At this point, if I see you’re not suggesting it I will.”

“ _ Kali _ !”

They hung around the kitchen island, Yang at one point going to take a quick shower in the guest bathroom and nearly falling asleep herself, the water was just so perfect and she was kinda tired-

She managed to catch herself before she fell though, which was good, lest she have injuries that impeded her plans, or pushed them back. Yang was fairly confident about the outcome, but as she dried off and changed, prepping her hair, she couldn’t help but feel a spike of anxiety about the whole thing. What if Blake was mad it was out in the open? What if she’d wanted something small? What if’s filled her mind but she quickly pushed them away and after digging out a nice outfit from her suitcase, made her way back downstairs and found the family listening to Blake recount mishaps that had occurred from the last time they’d seen each other. They’d kept in contact, so there was no doubt her parents already knew these, but they listened anyway. 

Oh, she was so in love with Blake Belladonna, it almost hurt. Almost. 

Blake turned towards the doorway when she felt eyes on her and smiled softly when she saw Yang standing there, arms crossed as she leaned on the doorway. 

“Hey, sunshine. Ready to go?”

“You bet honeybee.”

They shared a moment, forgetting for a brief second that Blake’s parents were in the room until a soft “Aww,” was heard - courtesy of Kali Belladonna. 

“Well, let’s go eat some  _ amazing _ fish!”

A chorus of “Yes!” with a grumbled “Please, I’m hungry,” from Blake, the group set off Ghira and Kali chatting away with Yang, with the occasional input from Blake as she made herself content to soak in the sights of her native land. 

No matter how many times she saw it, she would never tire. Each and every time felt like a breath of fresh air. 

After arriving at the place and devouring a nearly embarrassing amount of fish, they made their way to the beach and the two couples split and Blake and Yang decided on taking a stroll down the beach, jumping from sand to water and messing around, while Ghira and Kali decided on sitting on the sand and making themselves comfortable, Kali borderline napping. 

Blake and Yang walked along the shore, occasionally picking up a shell that looked pretty, or chasing the other into the water before they also decided on making their home in the sand, quite a ways down from the Belladonnas. 

“Braid my hair?”

Blake snapped back from daydream - about what exactly, she couldn’t even tell - at Yang’s request and checked her wrists for a hair tie before realizing she didn’t have one and was about to comment the fact to Yang when she noticed the woman’s arm raised in the air and a hair tie around her wrist. 

A snort slipped out as she took the elastic from Yang’s wrist and slipped it onto her own before beginning to part Yang’s hair and do a simple french braid down her back. She got lost in the motions and after tying off the braid, gently moved it to the side and sort of buried her face in Yang’s neck, reveling in the comfort and familiarity she found there. There was something so intimate about dealing with Yang’s hair, Blake was pretty sure she’d never get used to it. 

It was almost as if she’d been allowed to touch a goddess (god?) and she felt honored for the privilege. 

An exhale. “I love you.”

An inhale. “I love you more.”

A giggle. “I love you most.”

A soft hum. “I love you forever.”

A pout. “I’ll love you in eternity. In this life or others. Forever and ever, wherever, whenever Blake Belladonna.”

Blake knew how Yang felt about her and still, hearing it out loud had an effect on her she didn’t know would ever truly go away. 

Well, that’s what tends to happen when a psychopath manipulates someone - among other things - for years. They’d been together for years, worked through the brunt of  _ that _ , and still, sometimes Blake was surprised by Yang’s affections. 

As they leaned back and watched the sunset, whispered words and subtle touches, the ocean lapping at their feet, both of them just reveling in the presence of each other, heart, breaths in sync. Yang suddenly shifted and Blake looked at them and recognizing the glint in their eye, quickly scrambled up and away, but Yang quickly followed and pushed her towards the water, before finally catching her and tickling her mercilessly. 

Their laughter rang out across the beach, pure, unfiltered joy, the scene perfect. The perfect couple, the perfect place, the perfect atmosphere. 

It was almost as if fate was apologizing.

As they tumbled around while Blake tried to squirm away and eventually causing them to both fall into the water, they got soaked and played around a bit longer before the breeze of the evening picked up and Blake and Yang noticed it was a little chilly. 

“We should head back.”

“We should, but we’re having so much fun-”

“Honeybee, we can come back tomorrow. Right now we have to get out of these wet clothes before we catch a cold. We may have a passive aura, but that won’t protect us from your mother.”

Blake cringed slightly before acquiescing. 

“Fine, but you owe me.”

“Oh darling, I know exactly how to make it up to you.”

Blake’s eyes darkened slightly, and Yang pulled her closer. 

“I’ll tell you all about how I’ll make it up to you when we get back to the house, hm?”

A quick kiss on the nose and Blake was off, walking towards the house at a brisk pace and she could hear Yang cackling behind her. She heard the water sloshing then a sharp, “Shit-!” before spinning around and seeing Yang fall hard on their knees in the water. 

“YANG!”

“I’m fine! I’m fine, just tripped is all. Sea, the ocean doesn’t wanna let me go, but I already waved goodbye.”

Blake froze and groaned loudly before turning back towards the house. Nope, Yang could stand up on her own. 

After a few more minutes of struggling and the like, they finally made it back, the incident already out of sight and out of mind, though Blake would still harp on Yang for those terrible puns. 

They thought nothing of it, Yang paid it no mind. It was just a trip, nothing to it.  But then again, it was all so perfect, and for them something so rare. 

Later, Yang would look back at this moment. They'd pinpoint that trip.

"... _I should have stayed out of the fucking water._ "

**Author's Note:**

> *flips through me notes* oh the ideas.


End file.
